Thai Sugar and Ethanol companies step up investment

Thai sugar and ethanol companies are stepping up investment both to meet growing domestic demand for biofuels, and also capturing markets in neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia and Laos. They are also diversifying into power and electricity production, as well as earning carbon credits from these sectors. In Thailand, sugarcane and tapioca are emerging as the key raw materials for biofuel, especially for the E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, which the government hopes will ease the cost pressures on motorists while boosting the farm sector. Currently, the Asian agricultural giant produces about 70 million tonnes of sugarcane and 28 million tonnes of tapioca annually. As a net exporter of both crops, there has been little, if any, pressure on domestic supplies as far as the food sector is concerned. On the... [read full story]